Gena Showalter is a ROCK STAR!!

click this button to go to Fiktshun’s site with the list of all the stops

I’m so freakin’ over the moon excited to be one of today’s stops on the Authors Are Rockstars Tour, brought to you by those three awesome woman, Rachel at Fiktshun and Jaime and Patricia from Two Chicks On Books.

And would you believe I get to host Gena Showalter?!?! No freakin’ way!

Why is Gena Showalter a rockstar? Why should she be YOUR rockstar? Oh, let me count the ways…

She’s an extremely accomplished author, having sold her first book at only 27 years of age (she’s only in her 30’s!) Her success covers both the adult and young adult audiences AND across different genres: UF, PNR, Sci-Fi. And have you seen how many books she’s written??? If you still believe in Goodreads stats (I do) and look at her series’ overall ratings, they are all around 4.0, her lowest being a 3.85!

A lot of books, sure, but are they any good? Yes, yes they are! Ms. Showalter’s writing, IMHO, is consistently outstanding. I’m a huge fan of her Lords of the Underworld series and not one of those books has ever disappointed me. Even when I thought I might not like a Lord’s “story” (as in Amun’s case), I was completely wrapped up and blown away. I’m not too far in the Alien Huntress series (it took forever to find Enslave Me Sweetly in actual book form) but same thing – awesome! My favorite of hers? Tales of an Extraordinary Girl! Seriously a fun, UF read with a very hot love interest (purrrr, Rome Masters!). The second book was such a departure from the first and so heartbreakingly good!!

Gena Showalter is extremely open and accessible to fans. Her fan website rocks! Facebook page is stellar! She’s available for interviews! That just shows me how genuine and giving as an author she is. I had such a hard time coming up with original questions for Ms. Showalter because everything has been asked and answered. And if someone hasn’t asked it in an interview, she’s written about it on her website.

She works her butt off! Have you seen how many books she’s putting out this year???? Well, here they are, in all their glory!

Gena Showalter is brave! Okay, I’m going to go on a tangent I don’t do often, I don’t do well, and I’m usually chicken sh*t to discuss on the blog because, well, Mom taught me it’s impolite to talk politics or religion. But I really want to make an exception for the latter because I can’t get over Ms. Showalter’s fearlessness. Stricken ill last Fall with a serious illness for the second time in her life, she relied on her faith to heal her. I hear of those miracles all the time; it’s the way life works when you have faith. But what amazes me most of all is her courage to put her “testimony” on her website. I don’t discuss religion because I always fear people will look at me funny, like I’m a kook or something. But to share a testimony is brave and amazing. Thank you, Ms. Showalter!

You know you just want to be friends with her! Have you seen who her best buds are? NO? Open up any one of her books and you’ll instantly know! She thanks them every time she writes a book. Kresley Cole’s character “Nyx” has shown up in a LOTU book for Torin to drool over. With Jill Monroe she co-wrote last winter’s Dating the Undead. This fall she has After Moonrise coming out with P.C. Cast. Nice best friends, huh?

But enough of what I think… What does Gena Showalter have to say???

The Interview

1.A huge reason why you’re a Rockstar is your ability to be so prolific while consistently turning out amazing stories with unique, complex characters and excellent writing every time. How do you do it? Did you read a lot growing up? Or do you think your mind is just wired differently (hmmm, an alien, perhaps????) What do you think inspires your imagination?

First, thank you so much! I actually hated books until I reached the fifth grade. I was a slow reader, easily distracted, but once I connected with a set of characters, my whole world changed. I had to know more. And the more I read, the faster I read. Soon, story ideas began to bubble up. Ideas are still bubbling LOL

2. Another reason why you’re Rockstar is your connection to your fans! Besides your amazing website, I’m in awe of the work that goes into reaching out to your fans through interviews. Do you have any free time?!?!? What do you like to do in it? Have you done anything fun this summer yet (besides avoid the heat)?

Used to, I would have had to say no, I have absolutely no free time. 🙂 But last year I got really sick and was bed-bound for two months. My priorities changed drastically, and taking time off became a must. I read, listen to Keith Moore on my iPod, go to church, hang out with my family, and laugh. We are always laughing! I love it!

3. This has got to be one of your busiest years ever! At the very end of 2011, Dating the Undead came out, then The Darkest Seduction and most recently Wicked Nights. The year is barely half over and you still have 3 more books coming out! What can you tell me about Alice in Zombieland, coming out on September 25th?

Alice in Zombieland is the story of a sixteen year old girl who loses her entire family in a car crash, only to wake up to a world of zombies and zombie slaying–and the bad boy who will either save her or destroy her. Pulling loosely from Lewis Carroll’s story, Alice in Wonderland, as well as creating a brand new zombie mythology, was a lot of fun! Plus, I have a huge cougar crush on the hero, Cole. He kind of reminds me of a teenage William (from Lords of the Underworld) Though Cole wouldn’t stab his friends just for grins and giggs.

4. I’ve read in a recent interview that Alice in Zombieland is currently your favorite book you’ve written. Would you say you’re in a young adult zone right now or will you always be an “adult” writer? Do you prefer one audience over the other?

I think I’m always in the same zone LOL. At different times I’m led to write different things, but the inspiration and excitement are always there.

5. I’m getting tired just thinking about asking this but… what are you working on right now? You’re such a workaholic…

I just turned in copy edits for Last Kiss Goodnight, just turned in the proposal for the next Lords of the Underworld novel (Kane’s book — I’ll be revealing the title soon), and I’m now diving into revisions for Beauty Awakened (the second Angels of the Dark book) Up next I’ll be writing the second White Rabbit Chronicles book, Through the Zombieglass, and I’m beyond excited about it!

I have to mention that Koldo’s story is in Beauty Awakened and Intertwined #4 in tentatively scheduled for June 2013 🙂

6. Personal plea question: Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #3 – how can we make this happen? Do you need me to fly to OK so you can dictate it to me?

I would SO like to write a third Tales of an Extraordinary Girl book (honeymoon from hell, anyone?) I already have an idea, and do hope to tackle it one day. But dictating to you would be a lot more fun than just writing it, so count me in!

Now for the fun stuff…

Ice cream: chocolate or vanilla?

You have access to a time machine:go to the past or the future?

Books:paper, audio or ebook?

Hide and seek: hide or seek?

Shoes: high heels or flip flops?

Drink: coffee, tea or soda/pop?

Superpower: fly, super strength or telekinesis?

I want to thank Ms. Showalter for taking time to answer my silly questions, thank her assistant Marie for answering my emails so quickly and helping me, and I especially want to thank Rachel, Jaime and Patricia for providing me with this opportunity to share my thoughts on one of my favorite authors. Many, many thanks.

And Harlequin Teen was extremely generous to offer up one of Gena Showalter’s books for one lucky reader. And just because I’m too freakin’ excited about Alice in Zombieland, I’ll throw in 1 pre-order for another winner, two winners total! Open to US/CAN only (sorry!).a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Kristin

Kristin has to ensure she gets her minimal requirement of "happily ever after" books in between those books that contain cliffhangers and never-ending story arcs. It's for her family's sake. When not reading, she's homeshooling her 10-year old son, watching cartoons on TV, or taking a nap.

73 responses to “Gena Showalter is a ROCK STAR!!”

I love ALL the reasons you gave for Gena Showalter being a rockstar! I’m totally sure no one could have said it better! And I love this stop on tour with the interview. Thank you so much for participating in the event and the pre-order of Alice in Zombieland is an awesome giveaway prize! 🙂

I absolutely agree that Gena Showalter is a rock star! Absolutely love her! She’s one of my favorite authors and Im always looking forward to her next book. I just know I’m going to love Alice in Zombieland as well! Thanks for the opportunity to win a pre-order of it!

Wow, Gena used to hate reading?!? O.o Lol, fun interview! I’ve gotta admit I haven’t read an of her books yet, but the Unraveled series is on my shelf. All the more dying to read Alice in Zombieland after reading the interview!

Gena is my favorite paranormal author! She is the reason I started reading the genre when I fell in love with her Lords of the Underworld series! I am so happy that she is part of this Rock Star tribute as she truly is an inspiration to me as a writer and HUGE MEGA fan!

Great Interview! I have yet to read a book by Gena, but a couple in my giant pile somewhere. I hope I can get to them soon, and Alice in Zombieland just looks so amazing, I am going to have to read that as soon as it comes out!

I love love love Gena! >.< Recently, a blogger buddy and I got ANOTHER blogger buddy of ours into the LORDS.. she loves them! xD Lol.. I can't wait for Alice in Zombieland, Im looking forward to see if there's a difference in Gena's writing as it is a YA read instead of Adult. Love the Interview, and thanks for the giveaway! 😀

I don’t think I have had the pleasure of reading one of her books yet! I keep meaning too! That is what is great about this tour. Definitely pushing me to check out more authors that I haven’t yet. I’ve heard amazing things about both her YA and adult series and I’m super excited for Alice in Zombieland. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the interview and the great giveaway!

I love Gena Showalter’s writing so I was physiced to read your interview with her! And Tales of an Extraordinary Girl is my Favourite series too.Renae McKenzie recently posted…Guest Post: Captain Nubbie

I will never forget when I first discovered Gena. She has my maiden name, which is uncommon, so I immediately had to read her work. She is definitely one of my favorite PNR authors, evar. And you are so right. She is GREAT with her fans and just fun overall. Being a major fan of zombie fiction, plus loving anything and everything Alice-related, I am ridiculously excited for this book!!Smash Attack recently posted…TGIF: Pimp Your Review

WOW this is a great post. So many great reasons the Gena is a ROCK STAR. I’ve only read one book by Gena, but loved it and will be trying to read more of her work in the near future. I am extremely excited to see that she wrote ALICE IN ZOMBIELAND. I cannot wait to get my hands on this book.

Gena has me invested in 7 different series and is indeed a rock star! How many authors do you know that are so wildly successful they get spin-off series? Yeah there are a few but how many get multiple spin-offs? She has three in the works. Three! That is incredible! I lurve Gena’s brilliant mind and have a huge fangirl crush on her. Thanks for the opportunity!

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